Ray Allen is considered one of the three best shooters the NBA has seen. The shooting guard was a complete killer from beyond the arc but weirdly enough, he’s not happy to see how the game has turned in recent years, especially with the 3-point revolution.
Players like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Damian Lillard have taken the 3-point shooting to the next level, attempting shots from wherever they feel like it and enchanting fans around the world with their range. The 3-point is now the biggest play in the league and every team in the association knows the importance of that. However, Allen believes some aspects of the game have changed for the worse after the 3-point revolution.
During a recent appearance on ESPN’s “Greeny,” Allen talked about the current state of the game, claiming that attempting so many 3-point shots is hurting the game (4:37).
“I think the game is still extremely entertaining. There is a lack of appeal to it right now watching it because there are so many different dynamics to the game that are being lost.”
“The mid-range game is being lost. You look at Toronto a couple of years ago when they won the championship — they had some great three-point shooters. But you saw them pump fake and get into the paint and shoot the mid-range shot. Nowadays, guys pump fake and step sideways on the three-point line.”
Allen, worldly-famous for his famous game-tying shot in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, is now coaching an AAU team, and he’s trying to preserve the fundamentals he was taught. Ray urges his players to learn as much as they can about the game but always making sure to not just shoot 3s.
“What I tell my boys – I’m coaching the AAU team currently – I tell them, ‘I want you guys to pay attention to what goes on in college, play hard, learn from the NBA the dos and don’ts, but don’t settle for threes.”
If somebody can talk about this, that’s Ray Allen. He knows the game is going in a not-so-good direction and something must change. Ironically, he was one of those players who inspired the new generation like Curry and Klay to start taking 3s and change the game completely during the 2010s.
